Happy Canada (Investment) Day!
(July 1, 2013) — Three major Canadian pension funds unveiled new investments over the weekend, ahead of the country’s national holiday.
Canada’s Public Sector Pension’s investment board, which manages C$64.5 billion ($61.5 billion) of police and army pension money, announced a €303 million euros contribution for its half of a joint venture with the UK’s industrial property developer Segro for a portfolio of European warehouses.
Reuters reported the joint venture will own 34 properties valued at €974 million in countries including France and Belgium, with a rental yield of 7.9%, three or four percentage points higher than the best offices or shops in central London or Paris.
On the other side of the world, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan added to its portfolio by acquiring about 70% of three telecommunications companies in Australia from Leighton Holdings.
The three companies–Nextgen, which manages high-speed, carrier-grade fibre network services; Metronode, which provides data centre and related value-added services; and Infoplex, which provides cloud and ICT services–have been brought together under a new ownership structure and have been rebranded as the Nextgen Group.
The remaining 30% has been retained by Leighton Holdings.
Proving that all good things come in threes, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) boosted its retail holdings by acquiring its home-the pension plan bought 100% of One Queen Street East and the adjoining 20 Richmond Street East property from Ontario Pension Board.
The total valuation for the 500,000-square-foot Class A office complex, which has served as CPPIB’s head office since September, 2001, was declared as $220 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. CPPIB occupies more than 40% of the location today.
And to top it all off, the UK’s new Bank of England governor Mark Carney-also a Canadian-starts his new role today. Happy Canada Day everyone!
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